Not Quite Dead
by lunaerum
Summary: One of the first lessons in becoming a Healer is that you can't save everyone – but when Harry finds his first patient in a disembodied voice that claims to be dead, Harry finds he can't be objective. He'll be damned if he doesn't save Wally and bring him home to his family. He'll be damned if he lets his first patient end in tragedy. Dedicated to ducklin over on tumblr!


**Disclaimer:** Don't own anything but the fic idea/writing.

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 **Summary:** One of the first lessons in becoming a Healer is that you can't save everyone – but when Harry finds his first patient in a disembodied voice that claims to be dead, Harry finds he can't be objective. He'll be _damned_ if he doesn't save Wally and bring him home to his family. He'll be _damned_ if he lets his first patient end in tragedy.

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Let me know what you guys think of the summary! I might change it.

 **Pairings(s):** Artemis/Wally. Dick/Harry/Jason (Probably).

 **Warnings:** N/A for now.

 **Timeline:** I moved the HP timeline up to 2016, which means that the war ended in May 2016 and Wally died in June 2016. The fic starts in Oct. 2016.

This fic is for R aka duck-lin on tumblr. I hope you like it!

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 **Chapter One:** _A Voice Named Wally_

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It starts about six months after the war.

The rebuilding is making good progress, the funerals are nearly completed, the trials are nearly over, and Harry starts to move on with his life.

Without the terrifying possibility of Voldemort winning and the wizarding world burning to the ground under his rule looming over his head, Harry re-discovers himself.

He realizes after much deliberation that being an Auror doesn't quite appeal to him anymore. He's been fighting his whole life – not just against Voldemort, but against the Dursleys, he's been fighting for survival for as long as he can remember.

It's not something he wants to do for the rest of his life.

He still has nightmares about facing Voldemort that last time, resolved that he'd never again see the light of day but knowing he had to sacrifice himself so the rest of the wizarding world could live in his stead. He always wakes from those dreams drenched in cold sweat, hands shaking, and heart beating faster and faster in his chest.

Call him selfish, but Harry _never_ wants to feel like that again. For years, he would wake up and not know if he was going to live to see the next day, and the danger of being the chosen one hovered like omnipresent and depressing cloud over his shoulder.

He would never, _ever_ chose that for himself. He's lived it for years, not out of choice, but out of necessity. He played that role perfectly – so much so that he walked to his death with barely a second thought. With a second chance at life and a new, likely healthier, perspective on life Harry realizes that ' _hero_ ' is not a good look on him.

Though, he finds after a few days of introspection, he wasn't so much a hero, as a boy trying desperately to survive.

Even knowing becoming an Auror would come with training and a rather extensive support system, Harry wants no part of it. He's already had his taste of 'the fight' and it's left him with nightmares, both waking and asleep. Nothing could ever convince him to adopt that mindset that had permeated him so thoroughly during school – the one that dictated not only should others should come first, but that her should be on the frontlines at all times – not after coming back to life and becoming cognizant of the fact that the circumstances of his life had shaped him, molded him and that if he didn't want to be defined by those circumstances, he'd have to change completely.

And so instead of fighting – _hurting_ people, even if they'd deserved it – Harry decided he wanted to _help_ people, that he wanted to be a Healer.

Now all he had to do tell Ron.

(And that's how it _really_ starts.)

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After a few days of thinking on it, Harry decides that meeting with Ron in a public place would probably be best. As much as Harry would like the privacy of his home – now Number 12 Grimmauld Place – or the Burrow, if Ron were to get mad, Harry wouldn't be able to escape from his house and honestly, Molly and Arthur have enough on their plate without Harry getting their youngest son furious.

So.

Public place it is.

And it must be a magical public place, because if Harry is going to do this in public, he's not going to let everyone be privy to his private affairs – no, he's going to set up privacy wards, and it'd be best to do those in an environment where magic isn't just fiction.

That cuts down the amount of options considerably. Eventually, Harry just decides to tell Ron his new career plans at their weekly lunch, includes, of course, Hermione – though especially for this, is a good thing. Harry figures that Hermione would be able to calm Ron down if he got mad and could act as mediator if things went terribly wrong.

But all of Harry's not-so-carefully thought out plans are dashed when Hermione had to cancel last-minute, due to having to complete something time-sensitive at her fairly important Ministry job.

And Hermione looks so anxious standing in front of them, half in and half out of her shared flat with Ron– worried they'd be mad or something, and Harry can't find it in himself to get angry. "Well," Harry says with a grin. "What are you waiting for?"

"Yeah!" Ron says, lurching forward to give her a big kiss on the cheek. (Harry ignores the way they both flush at that. Honestly, they're so embarrassing). "Go save the world, 'Mione. We can all go someplace fancy on Friday."

Harry breathes a sigh a relief. Rescheduling the meal for two more days meant he had much more time to prepare what he was going to say to Ron.

Unfortunately, Harry forgot that being a Potter meant that if anything was to go wrong, it _would_ go wrong.

Therefore, when Ron says, "For right now, Harry and I can just go out to eat. It'll be like old times, yeah?" Harry really wishes he could be surprised.

When Harry doesn't respond, frozen with irrational fear – because surely Ron wouldn't call off their entire friendship because Harry didn't want to be an Auror, nor was it likely that Ron do any of the other things Harry's brain was thinking of – both Hermione and Ron turn to him, concern in their eyes.

"You okay, mate? We can cancel if you're not feeling good." Ron says, sharing a meaningful glance with Hermione. Harry doesn't even want to know what's being said in that look.

"No, no." Harry tries for a smile. Judging by Hermione's unimpressed look, it's not exactly convincing. "I'm fine. Let's go, Ron. Hermione has a world to save."

Hermione scoffs at that, but her cheeks are red and a tiny smile hints at the corner of her mouth. "You boys have fun." Then to Ron, she says softly, "I'll be back in time for dinner. Love you."

"Ew." Harry says, just to be a brat.

Both Ron and Hermione laugh at that, the strange tension that had pervaded the room dissipating at his childish statement.

"Harry, one day you're going to be just as 'gross' –" Ron even does the air-quotes – Harry regrets ever teaching him that. "With the person you love and I'm going to give you just as much grief as you give me – no, even _more_."

Harry laughs, doing his best to push the irrational thoughts of how his easy friendship with Ron could very well be over after this lunch. "Yeah, right. Not really interested in any of the girls in our year and all of the rest in the wizarding world just like me because I'm famous."

Again, Ron and Hermione exchange a meaningful glance.

"You never know," Hermione says mysteriously before turning on her heel and apparating away.

Harry blinks. "That was a bit ominous."

Ron laughs.

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They make it to the Leaky before the lunch hour rush and it's a combination of that and their fame that gets them a secluded table in a corner and a rush order on their food. Harry would complain at the special treatment, but he really would like Ron to be in the best mood possible before sharing the news of his new career. He knows he's being irrational and he knows Ron has grown up since fourth year, but it's all the ways that the friendship Harry values so much could go wrong that scare him – not Ron himself.

So Harry waits until he gets their food and picks at it, wondering if now or after Ron finishes eating would be the better, when the choice is taken out of his hands.

"Alright," Ron says, mouth full. "What's wrong? You're looking pretty gloomy over there, mate."

Harry frowns, wondering if he should deny it. He immediately scraps the idea – Ron would just pester Harry until he told. No, it's probably best to face this head on.

"I – I don't want to be an Auror anymore. Not anymore." _Not after what happened in that final battle,_ goes unsaid, but it's clear that Ron hears it. Harry leans back in the seat and tries to prepare himself for Ron's reaction.

Nothing, however, could have prepared him for what Ron was about to say.

"Oh, thank _Merlin_." Ron breathes, looking visibly relieved. "Never wanted to be an Auror, you know, but I made a promise after fourth year that I would be the best friend you ever had – that I wouldn't let you down again. And that included looking out for you as your Auror partner."

To say that Harry is surprised would be a vast, _vast_ understatement. "So you … don't mind that I don't want to be an Auror?"

"Course not," Ron says, taking a big bite of his chicken and staring pointedly at Harry's almost full plate until he does the same. "Only wanted to be an Auror because you wanted to. I only care about your happiness, Harry."

Harry ducks his head at that, ears burning. It's such a novel experience to have friends (or family, more like) worry after him and Harry doesn't ever think he'll get used to it, but maybe that's a good thing. "I – uh. I want to be a Healer. Want to help people instead of hurting them."

"Harry you –" Ron looks about ready to argue – probably at the insinuation that Harry hurt anyone in his entire life (he's overprotective like that and he's gotten so much worse since the Battle of Hogwarts. Something about letting Voldemort AK him) – but he thinks better of it and shakes his head with a snort. "A Healer, eh? It fits you." Ron smiles and the grin is so bright and fond that Harry can't help but to smile back.

"So, what do you want–"

" _HEEEEEEEEY!"_

Harry jumps, looking around for the culprit. When he finds no one, he shakes his head and turns back to a confused Ron. He opens his mouth to speak, only to get interrupted again.

" _CAN ANYONE HEAR ME?"_

Again, Harry looks around the Leaky, frowning when he doesn't find the person shouting. Everyone seems to be engrossed in their own conversations, no one seems to hear the rather loud voice shouting. Harry frowns even deeper. He leans closer to Ron, whose sitting across from him looking rather confused, eyes still scanning their surroundings when he says, "Do you hear that?"

Ron squints at Harry. "Hear what? We're in a privacy ward. No one can hear us outside of it, but that also means that we can't hear anyone outside of it either."

Harry doesn't respond, waiting for that mysterious voice to begin shouting once more. When that doesn't happen, he blinks, picks up his fork, puts it back down – then makes eye-contact with Ron. "Nothing. I must have imagined it. So, what do you want to do? Now that being an Auror's off the table?"

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Harry has almost managed to put the incident from his mind when he gets home and puts the leftovers (that Ron had forced him to package and take home – something about him not eating enough). He's high on Ron's approval, exuberant at the fact that lunch didn't go the way he feared.

He can't stop smiling. He doesn't know why he ever doubted Ron.

And again, the Potter luck strikes again – for after he throws himself onto the couch and has the vaguest thought of, _was I really imagining that voice in the Leaky?_ , the voice answers him as if summoned.

" _You can hear me right? I heard you in the restaurant and you said you heard me."_

Harry just _barely_ manages not to jump and that bright smile dims to a dull frown. He chances a look at his surroundings. There's no one there. Just his slightly dusty living room with furniture that's likely thrice as old as he is.

Strange.

Very strange – especially considering that his home is warded against intruders and logically speaking, no one should be able to get around those. Hermione had helped him cast them – and there was absolutely no way that Hermione made a mistake.

Hermione _never_ makes a mistake.

Harry has half a mind to fire-call Ron and Hermione over, but if Ron's reaction was anything to go by, it's unlikely that the voice can be heard by anyone else.

And doesn't _that_ bring back memories of his second year.

Here's hoping that this mysterious disembodied voice isn't also a murderous basilisk out to petrify students.

"… Who are you?" Harry asks, figuring there's no point in beating around the bush. May as well rush into the situation, even not knowing the outcome – being sly and sneaky would probably serve him no purpose here. Harry guesses that's what makes him a Gryffindor rather than a Slytherin.

There's a pause. Harry doesn't think the disembodied voice was expecting his frankness – that or it was collecting its thoughts. Finally, the voice clears its throat and Harry scans his surroundings again in the hopes of finding the owner of the voice.

Again, he finds no one.

" _My name is Wally West,"_ the voice says, much more subdued than before. " _– and I think I'm dead."_

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Next chapter is Harry and Wally getting to know each other and Harry researching Wally's condition.

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R&R please! I would love to know your thoughts on this crossover.

I'm lunaerum over on tumblr and twitter. Give me a follow if you like!


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